


Official Business

by kaptainkatpiss



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, Anal Fingering, Kink, Light Angst, M/M, Male Solo, Masturbation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-08-01
Packaged: 2018-03-20 23:55:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3669768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaptainkatpiss/pseuds/kaptainkatpiss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhett is hired at a new office, and is surprised at how taken he is by his new employer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

Rhett braced himself and walked into the lobby of Neal Office Inc., goosebumps arising on his skin and butterflies in his stomach. He’d been for abundant job interviews in the past, but none of them had been for such a huge successful company. Neal Office Inc. predominantly produced office supplies, but business had worked out so well for them that when the founder died, the son put his big ideas into action, and the company produced bigger, more expensive goods like copiers, desktop computers, etc. It was because of this that Rhett felt he was going to have to work extra hard to not let his old Southern accent shine through (perhaps so as not to sound uncivilised or unevolved), and additionally not say anything that would make him sounds like a dimwit. He would be interviewing as a potential designer for the aesthetics of the hardware, and the pay left little to be desired. He waited in the lobby to be called forward for his interview with Mr. Neal, the CEO, all the while imagining what he would be like. Rhett imagined a squat, bald man with a red face with a habit of yelling at his subordinates and a superiority complex. This image made his stomach tighten - he didn’t function well under pressure. He was jogged out of his stupor by a fairly young, cute, short, stocky, strongly built woman exiting the elevator with a clipboard, assumingly to escort Rhett to Mr. Neal’s office.

“Mr. McLaughlin? Good morning, I’m Jen, I’m here to see you to your interview.” she beckoned. He rose from his seat feigning a confident smile. The woman made him feel at ease, making friendly chit-chat as they rode the elevator together. Finally, they reached the floor where Mr Neal’s office was, and the woman lead Rhett all the way to the door of the boss’ office.

“Well, this is where I leave you.” Jen said, warmly. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Rhett replied, smiling nervously. He knocked hesitantly on the door as Jen made her departure.

“Come in.” said a soft, high voice from inside the office. Surely it didn’t belong to Mr. Neal? It had a soft Southern undertone that made Rhett feel assured and at home. This friendly, happy voice couldn’t be that of a CEO. However, Rhett stood corrected, when he walked in to find a man dressed as smartly as he was himself, standing behind the huge, ebony desk. The man was only around seven inches shorter than Rhett, and had a bone structure that would have floored him in a more appropriate environment; sharp, defined jawline. Firm, jutted chin and a perfectly straight nose. His face was a strange but perfect composition. Mr. Neal’s eyes were alight with optimism, and sparkled aquamarine. His lips were pink and perfectly shaped, almost like a love-heart, with an angular, sculpted cupid’s bow. He had shiny black hair that swept across his forehead and stood out in goofy wings at the bottom and the sides. His whole presence was completed by a pair of wide, thick-rimmed glasses that made him look quirky, but intelligent. Mr. Neal smiled at Rhett as though he’d known him for years, which made him feel instantly safe, and as though he could maybe make it through this interview with a good chance of getting the position he wanted.

“Mr. McLaughlin, I presume.” Mr. Neal greeted, leaning slightly forward to shake Rhett’s hand. The handshake lingered for a few seconds… “It’s Rhett, right? Rhett McLaughlin? Please, have a seat.” Rhett did as he was told, not quite sure what to do with his hands.

“Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Neal.” Rhett said, smiling kindly, wanting to start the interview on a good note.

“Please, Mr. Neal was my father’s name.” replied ‘Mr. Neal’.

“Sorry...uh...is it Charles?” asked Rhett, thinking back to the email he’d received earlier that week from the CEO himself. The signature had said C.L. Neal.

“Oh gosh,” scoffed Mr. Neal at the mention of his own first name. “Link. Nobody’s called me Charles in years.”

“Right. Of course. Link.” Rhett corrected himself.

“Is that an accent I hear? Where ya from, man?” asked Link, humored, leaning back in his chair, clearly relaxed. Rhett was surprised but comforted by the informal way he was being spoken to.

“North Carolina. You’ve got an accent yourself, what about you?”

“Me too, oh my gosh!” exclaimed Link, excitedly. The two of them had an animated conversation about North Carolina until Link reminded himself and Rhett the reason they were meeting was for a job interview. The interview took place as discussed, and Rhett was able to provide honorable, favorable, professional answers for all questions. But every once in a while, they would get sidetracked and start talking about things that were completely unrelated to the job, the company, or even Rhett. At one point, they started having a full-length conversation about music, which was simply surreal, as their tastes were impossibly similar. Eventually the interview drew to a close.

“Well, Rhett, it’s been so nice talking to you. This has to have been one the most interesting interviews I’ve taken in a long time.” Link said, warmly. Rhett smiled back at him and nodded.

“Yeah, it was really something.” there was a silence. But it wasn’t uncomfortable...the two men, feeling the obvious connection between, basked in the silent seconds of staring into each other’s eyes, exploring, discovering, knowing.

“How about you start Monday?” Link suggested, breaking the silence, with a coaxing shrug. Rhett stammered for a couple of seconds, not expecting the interview to go so well that he was able to skip past the consideration period.

“Um...uh, yeah. That’d be great!” he voiced his surprise, gratefully. Link smiled back at him and stood up to walk him to the door.

“Great. Awesome. So good to meet you.”


	2. 2

When Rhett came home, he was greeted by his cat, the he had dubbed “Kat”, to be comical. He didn’t have a partner to come home to, but Kat was the next best thing. She was a loyal companion, although a little stand-offish at times. As Rhett looked around his empty apartment, tucking into his Jack-In-The-Box takeout, he couldn’t help but think to himself...wouldn’t it be nice to have someone to eat with? Or kick back and watch a movie with after a long day at work...and go sleep side-by-side, at once not feeling as though he was floating, lost in space with no radio. Someone to call his....

 

The next Monday came quicker than Rhett had expected. He dressed in his best suit and gelled his hair into his signature pompadore, all the while wondering if this particular style was appropriate for a work environment like the one he was about to enter. However, he didn’t have time to change it, as it was almost nine already. Hastily, he grabbed his keys, wallet, phone and briefcase and hurried out of the complex and down to his car.

Immediately when he entered the lobby of the office building, he was greeted by a wide-set, smiling young man with with strawberry-blonde hair, wearing smart pants and a white polo in an effort to dress professionally - an illusion which was slightly weaken by his checkered Vans slip-ons.

“Hey, it's Rhett, right?” Rhett nodded in response and shook the man’s hand. “Awesome, I’m Alex, the new intern. Mr. Neal assigned me as your PA, cool right? Bet ya never had a PA before, huh?” Rhett blinked in the sudden intake of information.

“Can’t say I have.” Rhett replied, trying his best come off friendly - his shyness had backfired in the past, especially when it came to making comrades in the workplace.

“Well you do now. Lemme show you to your office, sir.” Alex said. Rhett had only been called sir four times, all of which had been by McDonalds workers. Alex occupied and chilled out but happy presence, which Rhett took a shine to.

They arrived on the design floor, where Alex gave Rhett a tour, introducing the other employees as they went along - “That’s Miss Levine, she’s vice president of design - your second in command.” he said, whilst pointing at a willowy, mysterious woman without a trace of makeup pouring coffee into a paper cup in the staff lounge.

“I heard my name.” she called without turning around.

“Um, yeah, this is Rhett, the new president of design.” Alex said, gesturing at Rhett. Miss Levine turned around, looking as though she’d just rolled out of bed - though she gave off a vibe that perhaps she performed an elaborate ballet routine to get up in the morning rather than just tumbling to her feet. She was made of something else - a simple beauty that was non-threatening.

“Hey, nice to meet you. I'd shake your hand but-” she pointedly held up the coffee cup and percolator jug “Everyone just calls me Stevie. Alex is kinda weird.”

“Workplace banter. Nice.” replied Alex, smiling sarcastically. Stevie smiled in response and sipped her coffee.

“Well, I’ll see you guys around.” she said, tiredly as she drifted out of the lounge to her office.

“These guys are Ben, Eddie and Chase.” Alex continued, gesturing to three guys sitting at a table eating various breakfast foods - an ever shorter guy with closely cropped hair and an endearing smile, another youth who had a beard that was even more untamed than Rhett’s, and a stumpy young man with weak facial hair, deepset eyes and dark curly hair.

“ ‘Sup, man.” said Eddie, raising a hand. The other two just nodded.

“So this is kinda cool, you’re, like, our boss.” said Chase, nodding and smiling as though he were introducing a new business idea.

“I guess so.” replied Rhett, nervously, not liking the connotations that came with the word ‘boss’.

“Good - it’s about time Stevie got taken down a peg.” Eddie said, crossing his arms. Rhett wasn’t sure whether to join in with the banter.

“Oh, shut up man, you can’t keep bitching about your girlfriend making more money than you.” said Alex, teasingly. Rhett was instantly uncomfortable, even with the knowledge that they was just a bunch of colleagues ragging on each other.

“Go bite yourself, man.” said Eddie, grinning whilst he got up and left the lounge, presumably to go and do whatever his job was. Alex slapped him on the ass as he approached the door. Eddie let out a single ‘oof’ sound, but didn’t stop walking. Rhett wondered what kind of place he’s entered into. He wasn’t a judgemental person, but wasn’t this supposed to be one of the leading Office supply companies in America? And there was a bunch of fratboys running the design department, slapping each other’s butts?

“Nice meeting you guys.” Rhett said, raising a hand in the direction of Chase and Ben as Alex lead him out of the lounge.

“So right now this must seem like kind of an alien environment. We just kinda rag on each other sometimes, it’s what we do. You’ll get used to it.” said Alex, comfortingly.

“I hope so. I’m not super into butt stuff, mind.” said Rhett, casually. This got a good-natured giggle out of Alex, and Rhett got the feeling he was less like Wendy Darling trying to tame the Lost Boys into submission, but rather Darwin-esque, able to shape and mold to his surroundings. The environment wasn’t rigid like he’d expected...and little did he know how well this would work to his advantage.


	3. Chapter 3

“Knock-knock.” said a familiar Southern accent. Rhett looked up from his potential designs to see Link standing proudly in the doorframe.

“Hey, what’s up, man?” greeted Rhett, unable to keep his beared face from breaking out into a smile.

“Nothing at all. To tell you the truth, my job doesn’t really entail much.” Link replied, entering further into the office.

“Oh yeah?” Rhett chuckled in response. Link nodded and sucked his teeth.

“Yeah. Actually I just spent the past half hour polishing everything in my office with glasses-spray.” Link confessed with a smile. He planted himself on Rhett’s desk, which Rhett himself found incredibly amusing and inviting. “Whatcha makin’?” Link peered at Rhett’s monitor.

After this ice-breaker, the two men somehow managed to go completely off topic. Link had squashed onto Rhett’s chair with him, in such close proximity that Rhett had to actually put his arm around Link’s lower back to keep from falling off the chair - such a thing would cause absolute havoc for his back problems. By lunch, the two were red in the face, giggling while looking at memes.

“Crap, look at the time.” Rhett said, regaining his breath. Link smiled a stood up, only to trip over his own feet in the process. Rhett was instantly on his feet, hands on Link’s shoulders to steady him.

“I totally had that, dude.” Link sighed, having to look up at Rhett as they were standing so close to one another.

“Sure you did, buddy.” said Rhett winking, turning Link around towards the door. “C’mon, let’s get something to eat.” Rhett marveled at how it was only his first day on the job and already they’d gotten to a stage where they were comfortable practically sitting on each other.

“Ooh, look at you, askin’ me out on a lunch date.” said Link, excitedly as the two exited Rhett’s office. Rhett stuttered nervously, not sure whether to deny this or just go with the flow - would it really be so bad taking Link on a date? Link could see Rhett’s bashful reaction and was quick to his rescue.

“Dude, I’m just teasing, don’t get your Calvins in a twist.” assured Link, kindly. Rhett smiled and shook his head, ushering Link to the elevator. 

However, his state of ease was soon compromised...because he was, in fact, wearing Calvins...

******  
**


	4. Chapter 4

As Christmas rolled around the corner, the design floor was a-buzz with chatter about the upcoming office party. Rhett sat in the staff lounge with Jen and Stevie that morning, who kept bringing it up.

“I dunno if I’m gonna show. I’m not really a party guy. Plus, I’ve only been here for two months - I don’t wanna embarrass myself.” said Rhett, sipping his coffee.

“Aw, but you gotta! Your twenties don’t last forever. Plus, Mr. Neal always gets tipsy and does karaoke and tells us all how great we are.” said Stevie with a fond smile.

“It’s always such a morale booster.” responded Jen, grinning into her tea. “Although he does get unintentionally flirty. He called me a ‘buff version of Cobie Smulders’ last year.” Rhett smiled at the thought of Link being completely uninhibited and saying whatever came into his head. He wondered what Link might have to say to him…

“Just a heads up, he’s gonna be all over you, Rhett.” said Stevie, jerked Rhett out of his clouding thoughts.

“What? What are you talking about?” stammered Rhett, trying to be as casual as possible. Stevie and Jen looked at each other for a second and started giggling uncontrollably. “What is it?” Rhett demanded, frustrated, catching the giggles off the two girls.

“It’s nothing, Rhett. Seriously.” said Stevie, unable to control her huge grin. Jen looked away but continued giggling to herself.

“I’m your boss and I directly order you to share the joke.” asked Rhett, determined to satisfy his curiosity.

“Ooh, Mr. Authority has entered the building.” teased Jen. “Maybe you’ll find out tonight at the party.” Stevie nodded in agreement.

“Wow. Nice use of leverage.” Rhett said, sarcastically. He sighed heavily. “Fine. I’ll come to the party. Alright? You manipulated me.” The two girls smiled triumphantly and Rhett left to go to his office. To his surprise, he felt a surge of excitement. Office parties were never really his thing...but Link was going to be their, dressed up and sloppy- drunk. And maybe this was the night that the two would get their acts together and stop pretending they didn’t want to get it on like a couple of teenagers.

Rhett showed up to the office an hour after the party had started, dressed in his black skinny jeans and a dark grey t-shirt. The whole design team was there, along with all the other departments, which meant a lot of people Rhett hadn’t met. He stood nervously by himself, wondering what exactly he was supposed to do with himself. He gasped as he was attacked from the right by a tipsy Link.

“Rhett!” the shorter man chirped as he grabbed Rhett, clinging to him in a euphoric hug.

“Hey, man, how you doin’?” replied Rhett, prising Link’s arms off him and meeting his eyes. Link was also sporting skinny jeans, Vans, a black polo and a dark grey hoodie.

“Absolutely fantastic! Hey, everyone, look, Rhett’s here!” Link cried out, absolutely ecstatic. Everyone cheered, all seemingly to humor Link. But Rhett knew the design crew meant it.

“Link, get your ass over here!” called Chase from the break room. Rhett heard a loud tap and the sound of feedback - it was a microphone. Which could only mean one thing. Link gasped in delight and ran eagerly into the break room like a toddler. Rhett followed, thoroughly enjoying the sight of Link being so happy.

“Take the floor, buddy.” said Ben, passing the mic to Link. Link looked at Rhett, inspiration suddenly setting his blue eyes ablaze.

“Rhett, you gotta come do a duet with me!” he yipped. Rhett immediately jumped into shock.

“Uh...I mean, I don’t…” he stammered for a few seconds, but it was too late to protest, as Link already had his arm around Rhett’s waist and was clumsily rubbing the microphone over his (Rhett’s) lips. He was drunker than Rhett had first suspected. The back-track for Johnny Cash’s ‘Give My Love to Rose’ softly blared through the office. Rhett had no choice. He sang, nervously at first, but seeing how happy it made Link only made him want to give him a full performance. So he did just that...with the whole design team as his audience.

By the end of the song, he was going all-out, putting on a low, throaty voice and longing out all the notes as he and Link swayed from side-to-side. Link was giggling away, his cheeks positively scarlet. When the song was over, uproarious applause was given by everyone in room.

“Someone get this man a drink!” called Jen, practically skipping to Rhett to congratulate him from coming out of his shell. “Rhett, oh my god! You’re voice is amazing! How have you been hiding that from us, dude?!” Chase re-entered the room with a red solo-cup for Rhett. He didn’t really drink, and Chase new that. They exchanged a look, which told Rhett that chase had taken this into account, and fetched him a non-alcoholic beverage.

As the night wore on, Rhett became more comfortable. Link had disappeared somewhere with Ben and Alex, so Rhett was left chatting to Chase and Jen.

“I know exactly what you mean now.” sighed Rhett, happily to Jen. She returned his smile. Chase seemed to be part of this running joke too. But Rhett still felt there was something he didn’t know. His train of thought was interrupted by Link riding back into the office on Alex’s back whilst Ben threw shredded paper as though it were confetti.

“Take me to see the president!” slurred Link. Alex doubled up laughing and dropped Link. Rhett excused himself from the conversation with Chase and Jen and ran to Link’s aid. Link, who was now rolling on his back laughing uncontrollably - so much that no sound was even coming out of him anymore - grabbed Rhett’s leg.

“Rhett, thank god your here!” Link said in between giggles. Rhett found it too adorable to handle. He took both of Link’s hands and pulled him up off the floor.

“You ok, buddy? You’re not hurt or anything?” he asked, smiling at his drunk friend.

“Guess what we found hanging in the doorway of the lobby.” hinted Ben. Rhett cocked his head in confusion. Link snaked an arm round Rhett’s waist and pulled him close. With a clumsy motion, Link pulled a little branch out of his pocket - misletoe. He stretched up and held the small twig over Rhett’s head.

“Woah, look at that! We gotta kiss now.” Link announced, excitedly. Rhett blushed. There was no way that his first kiss with Link was going to be under these circumstances; having to hold Link up because of how drunk he was, in front all their employees. It was just downright inappropriate and humiliating, especially when Rhett himself was completely sober. Rhett frowned. He let Link go and took a step away. He held up his hands in surrender. Link’s face fell. Upsetting him was the last thing Rhett wanted. But he didn’t want to do this, and what’s more, he didn’t have to.

“Sorry.” Rhett said, gently, looking for some way to burst the bubble of tension that was rejecting Link in front of every single person at this wretched party. Link swallowed and nodded.

“Yeah. I’m sorry too.” he replied, thickly. He dropped the twig on the floor and staggered off to his office, slamming the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, everyone looked at Rhett, unsure of what to say. And there Rhett stood. Bravely. Waiting to be shunned. But he wasn’t. His employees all approached him with sad, sympathetic looks on their faces.

“Don’t feel too bad about it man.” said Eddie, patting Rhett on the back. The employees nodded in agreement. After a few seconds of silence, Rhett resolved that he’d go and talk to Link, without everyone spectating. He made his way down the hall to Link’s office and knocked on the door.

“Link?” he called.

“Link’s not here.” slurred Link’s muffled voice.

“Oh yeah? Who’s that?” asked Rhett, playing along. He opened the door to find Link sitting cross-legged on the floor, wearing his hoodie like a cape.

“Batman.” Link replied, lazily. Rhett sighed and went to join Link on the floor.

“Look, I’m sorry I embarrassed you out there, Link. I really am. I just get so awkward at parties, man.” Rhett said, tried to get Link to look up and meet his eyes. Link groaned.

“I’m really sorry, man, I didn’t mean to make it weird but I totally did and now I’ve screwed up whatever this thing-” Link gestured between the 2 of them “whatever this is.” Rhett smiled at Link and lifted his chin to make eye contact.

“It’s ok, Link. Nothing’s screwed up. Don’t worry about it. I just don’t wanna kiss you in front of everyone. Plus, you’re blitzed. It’d be morally wrong.” Rhett explained. Link’s eyes lit up and he stared at Rhett, cogs turning his head. Rhett was glad that Link wouldn't remember this in the morning. “Come on, little guy, let’s get you home.” Link allowed Rhett to help him off the floor and rested his head on Rhett’s left side. The two men navigated out of the office and downstairs, outside to Rhett’s car, and drove off into the night.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Link started dozing off as soon as Rhett pulled out of the parking space, his perfect pink lips parting slightly as his head gently tipped back, exposing his prominent adam’s apple. Rhett found it such a shame to have to wake him for directions to his place.

“Link...Link.” he said, gently. Link stirred and hummed, blissfully. “Link, I don’t know where you live.” Link mumbled something in reply. Rhett sighed and pulled over.

“Link, I need to directions to your apartment, can you stay awake for, like, two seconds?” he said, irritably. Looking after drunk people wasn’t something he did regularly - because he hated it. Link’s eyes opened fully.

“Rhett..?” he said, hazily. “I think I left my phone in my office.” Rhett sighed lightly and closed his eyes for a second.

“Ok. Alright. I’ll go back and get your phone,” he said, tired, as he started up the ignition again. Link would have thanked him, had he not fallen right back to sleep.

Rhett stopped the car in his designated parking space and left Link sleeping in the passenger seat - he thanked his lucky stars that he wouldn’t have to go through the party to get to Link’s office. He let himself into the tranquil little room and looked on every surface possible, not seeing it anywhere. It was, without thinking, that we delved into the drawers in Link’s desk, and sure enough, his phone was there. Rhett pocketed the shiny black iPhone and made to close the drawer, but not before something shocking caught his eye. He blinked and stared for a good few seconds, before reaching into the drawer. In his hands, he now held a black, satin blindfold. It definitely wasn’t just a sleepmask, he knew that much. He felt...turned on. Images whizzed through his brain like rapidly changing scenery from a moving car - having the blindfold expertly tied by Link, everything dissolving into blackness as he gave himself over completely to his... _boss._ Rhett forced himself to put down the blindfold and hastily shut the drawer.  He felt as though he’d just accidentally discovered Link’s most intimate thoughts and desires...as though he’d just walked in on him pleasuring himself. He didn’t know whether to feel ashamed or aroused. Either way, he had to get Link home. Who knew what could happen if he didn’t - Rhett could end up blurting out that he knew about the blindfold, and God knows what else.

With a shake of his head and a deep breath, Rhett hurried outside to fulfill his mission. When they arrived at Link’s, Rhett was stunned. Link lived on a quiet street just outside of LA, in a huge two-storey. It was less of a family home, but more of a bachelor pad. This idea made Rhett slightly nervous, but at the same time encouraged a stirring in his stomach and groin. He fought off the feeling in his pants and clambered out of the car, subsequently hoisting Link into his arms and carrying him bridal style. Thankfully, Link’s maid was able to open the front door - Rhett didn’t like the idea of the challenge he’d have getting Link’s keys out of his pockets. Rhett didn’t know why he was surprised - Link was the CEO of one of the biggest office supply companies in America, of course he was bound to be rich. But Rhett had never imagined Link as one of those cashmere sweater-wearing, brandie-drinking, cigar-smoking “rich people”. He seemed so much more wholesome and real. Rhett carried Link effortlessly up to his room and settled him gently on his front. Just as he was tiptoeing out of the room, anxious to leave and avoid any awkward dialogue, he heard Link stirring. Rhett turned around to see Link had rolled over and was blinking, bleary and dazed. “Rhett?” Link said, groggily.

“Yeah.” replied Rhett, wondering just how much longer it would be until he could go home and sleep.

“I’m sorry about everything tonight,” Link muttered sleepily “I know I come on a little strong sometimes when I like someone.” Rhett blinked in the dimly lit room.

“Alright then. Well. I’ll see back at work I guess.” Rhett replied, his heart racing. Link seemed to have completely forgotten what he’d just said, as he simply smiled secretively at his employee. “Merry Christmas, Rhett.”

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR WAITING SO PATIENTLY FOR ME TO CONTINUE THIS AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS READ SO FAR, I APPRECIATE YOU ALL VERY MUCH <3

After a three-day weekend off from work, the whole design floor was back in business, working at the admirable pace they had been before Christmas, despite the hangovers and post-Yule blue. All except Rhett, who was stumped in terms of creative property, and practically falling asleep at his desk. His steel-grey eyes would frequently glance away from his “work”. Each time, the glance would become a stare, and he would gaze blurry-eyed at anything but his projects. He was grateful when an equally tired-looking Stevie cleared her throat from his office doorway.

“Stevie. What’s up?” He asked, more surprised than he would have liked to admit.

“Everyone’s too dozy to come to lunch.” Stevie sighed. “But I gotta get outside, it’s like Santa’s funeral in this place.” Rhett craned his neck to look outside into the main office area. Sure enough, everyone was was working hard. But they looked slightly down, and not in the mood to leave their desks.

“I see what’cha mean.” Rhett agreed with a half-smile. “How’s Subway sound?”

Once the two workers sat down with their sandwiches steaming in the wrappers, Stevie didn’t waste any time.

“So what’s the four-one-one with you and Link?” she asked, without even looking at Rhett. Rhett froze whilst unwrapping his sub. He was silent and still.

“W...what?” he stammered when he finally got over the initial shock of the question.

“Y’know, did you guys talk things out about what happened? Are you guys, like, cool now?” she asked.

“Oh...right. Yeah, we talked. In all honesty, I don’t even think Link remembers what happened.” Rhett responded, his heart rate returning to normal. He still hadn’t gotten over the blindfold…

“Well that’s good. He’s so sensitive, he has to put on his business face a lot of the time, but he’s a thinker if I ever saw one.” Stevie resolved, delicately starting her sandwich.

“You seem to know a lot about him.” replied Rhett with an inviting smile.

“Yeah, he used to babysit me and my brother before his dad promoted him to full-time work. I wouldn’t have my job if it weren’t for him, we’ve worked our way up together in the company.” Stevie paused for a second. “I also happen to know that he’s a total hopeless romantic.” Rhett raised his eyebrows and pretended not to know what what Stevie was doing, and that was trying to direct the conversation to Rhett and Link’s potential.

“Good to know…” Rhett responded. The paused prompted Rhett to say what he was thinking: “Why would you...uh….y’know, tell me that?” Stevie raised her eyebrows.

“I thought we were having a conversation. Y’know, about Link? I was just...making a statement about him.” she replied, smiling slyly. Rhett gazed accusingly for a few seconds before realising he had no valid reason to complain. And if he did, it’d just encourage Stevie’s suspicions. Who know’s what else?

Rhett let himself into his apartment and went about his average evening; changing, eating dinner, channel surfing. He sighed as he zapped between NBC, MTV, IFC, and whatever else occupied the maelstrom of mind-numbing “entertainment”. Blinking his tired grey eyes, he finally shut off the TV, realising that having it on only made him feel more bored and lonely. Eventually, he resolved that he’d go to his room and get some work done on his laptop. He smiled to think that if he had a significant other, they’d currently be complaining about him “bringing the office home with him”. As soon as he opened up his laptop and was online, he automatically typed his email site into the web-address bar out of habit. He was surprised at how pleased it made him to see an email directly from Link’s work-address - of course he knew it was nothing as warm and cosy as he felt, but he could dream. As soon as he opened it, he had to ground himself. _This is work_ , he told himself. _This is work, and he’s your boss. Act like it_.

_Dear Mr. McLaughlin_

__

_As you may know, the project you’re currently contributing to is one of great expectation. Given this fact, we expect the final product of your contribution to be of a high standard, and at the very least match the level of greatness that we have seen in past, similar projects. To assist you, I’ve attached a video file. The file contains a presentation composed by the previous person to fill your position, on a similar project. You are required to watch it for research._

__

_(I feel like a high-school history teacher, shoot me already)_

__

_Regards,_

__

_C.L. Neal_

Rhett smiled and shook his head at Link’s personal comment. Of _course_ Link was incapable of composing a formal letter without shading the corporate fat-cats at least once. Nonetheless, Rhett clicked on the video attachment. Immediately, it didn’t look at all like a presentation for one of his design projects. The video was still, obviously from a tripod. The camera showed an empty bed that was covered with black satin covers and an artistic array of matching black pillows. The wall behind it was a deep, spicy red, and the lighting was warm but somehow harsh at the same time. Rhett had seen surroundings like this in videos before, but rest assured, they were not design presentations. But he waited. He waited for something to happen, like perhaps the setting was just for some kind of affect - to capture the attention of the viewer or something...right? Wrong. The air was knocked out of Rhett’s lungs when a figure wandered mischievously onto the “set” wearing nothing but a black satin corset, matching satin panties and sheer black stockings. The figure was only shown from behind at first, clambering from the foot of the bed and crawling on the sheets in the direction of the headboard. The character’s wet-look black hair was almost like an abyss in contrast with the red wall. What Rhett could see of the figure’s upper thighs was peppered with black hair, as well as the petite graceful arms. And when the subject of the video turned to face the camera, Rhett’s fears (or perhaps hopes) were realized. The person in the corset was none other than Link. Rhett knew instantly that Link had sent the wrong video by mistake, but he couldn’t seem to make himself close the file. He wanted to watch what Link had in store...he wanted to see where this was going. Link’s lean body fell blissfully back onto the pillows with a sigh. His eyes pierced the camera lense with a sleepy sultry gaze. Rhett felt as though Link could truly see him, and that, boy was he glad to!

Link’s slender, strong hands traveled down his hips and caressed his thighs, occasionally glancing at the camera as if he was searching for approval.

“I shouldn’t be watching this…” Rhett muttered to himself. But it was no use, his eyes remained glued to the screen. The journey of Link’s hands had progressed...one was now rubbing slowly at the crotch of his flimsy panties, the other hovering over his mouth as he licked, sucked and nipped at the ends of his fingers. _Oh shit...ohhhh shit. I’m in_ _trouble now_ , Rhett thought to himself, over and over. Once again, he tried to make himself close the file, but Link’s imperious gaze begged him to stay. The gazed didn’t last for long, as Link’s eyes had now fallen shut as he rolled his neck slowly, moaning all the while.

“Fuck.” Rhett whispered. He hadn’t even noticed his half-erection yet, all too focused on watching Link, who was now rutting his satin-clad crotch into his hand.

“Let me put on a show for you, baby…” Link said, shocking Rhett out of his hypnotized stupor. The voice was different...deeper, darker, and whole lot more Southern. Link’s eyes were cast down as he slipped delicately out of the panties and tossed them haphazardly off camera. And there it was...Rhett thought they only looked like that in porn. _Well_ , he corrected himself, _technically this_ is _porn_. It was sturdy and had a slight curve, and was surrounded by dark hair that had been trimmed to a tasteful (but undisputably sexy) neat style. And not to mention, big. It had to have been at the very least seven inches. _And it’s not even hard yet!_ , yelped Rhett’s internal monologue, shivering to think how that would look.

“Let me make you feel special, baby…” said the same voice that had come from Link before, once again surprising Rhett. Link lent back into the pillows and sighed as he stroked himself, gently at first, just to raise himself to hardness. But as soon as his cock was fully hard, he grasped it in his sinewy hand, using the other to cup and massage his balls. He pumped it a few times before running his thumb over the tip. Touching himself somewhere so sensitive sent his whole body into a single shiver of pleasure. Rhett watched in awe as his _boss_ jerked off absent-mindedly, whilst occasionally saying something sinful in that same heavy, possessive voice. Link paused his strokes to reach over out of frame. His hand returned with a small bottle of lube, which he liberally applied to his index finger.

“Ohhhh fuck…” whispered Rhett, instantly realising where this was going. Link shifted his position so that he was in side profile and on his knees. He arched his hips up to better expose the area of objective, before gently massaging it. Rhett, try as he might, couldn’t escape. Every time he tried, he was pulled back in by the soft noises bliss that tumbled out of Link’s perfect pink lips. Finally, after enough prep, Link used his index finger to ease into penetrating himself. Though just by looking at the expertise with which the man used his finger, Rhett could tell this wasn’t new. Finally, the blonde man could no longer take it, he had to relieve the tension in between his legs. Without even pausing the precious footage, he unbuttoned his pants and wriggled out of them, all the while watching the little whore on the screen working on his hole. Rhett watched leisurely now, as he stroked himself slowly, so as not to finish before he’d seen it all. Out of the blue, a giggle escaped the man on the screen.

“Oh wow, usually I don’t find it this soon,” he said, breaking the sultry, filthy character he’d been doing so well to portray. But Rhett didn’t care, nothing could ruin something so perfect as getting to witness Link fuck himself with those perfect hands. Link withdrew his finger, sighing softly, before applying more lube to his hole. This time, he went back in with two, strategically turning them at an angle. As soon as the raven-haired man flexed his long fingers, his back arched and he let out an involuntary sound of pleasure.

“What are you waiting for? Keep going you naughty slut!” hissed Rhet before he could stop himself. He clasped a hand over his mouth in surprise. He’d gotten so caught up in the moment of pleasuring himself whilst watching his boss that an animalistic urge to command had grasped him without him even noticing. _There’s no coming back from this...I’m_ _in too deep now_...Rhett thought. Evidently, so was Link. The smaller man lost all inhibition, and was no longer playing a character. He thrusted his fingers in and out of himself, not caring about looking sexy or putting on a show for...whoever this masterpiece was originally intended for. He rutted back onto his fingers with each thrust of his hand, mindlessly pounding himself. Rhett lost himself in his own pleasure as well as watching Link. The giant thrust into his clenched hand, unable to contain his excitement a moment longer. Link’s noises became more needy and desperate as his impending orgasm hung over his head. Once again, he removed his fingers from his hole, and shifted his position for a final time. This time he lay with the pillows supporting his upper back, while he spread his legs wide with his knees facing up. Rhett slowed his paced while he waited for Link for plunge his fingers back into himself, not wanting to finish too early. Finally, Link grasped his cock and re-inserted his fingers. He moved the fingers around in himself, presumably massaging that special spot. Rhett’s eyes almost rolled back as Link’s involuntary noises once again filled the air around him. Rhett jerked in earnest as he watched Link do the same.

“You ready for a big finish, baby?” Link rasped as his hips rocked of their own accord.

“You bet I am…” Rhett growled, not caring at all that Link couldn’t hear him. Link’s face contorted as he got closer. His breath had become so rapid that it was the only noise that escaped him now. Rhett grasped his balls and prepared to see something he’d be seeing for months every time he closed his eyes. Both of Link’s hands stuttered and there it was...he writhed and panted, all the while his hips moving in all directions as the surge of his orgasm took over him. “Fuck, _fuck_!” he cried out, before he finalised it with a magnificent splatter of cum that landed all over the pretty corset.

Rhett followed in kind, roaring Link’s name and wishing he was spread out for him on those black sheets. Rhett lay for a few moments, regaining his breath. He reveled in being able to see Link’s after-orgasm haze, and watched with intrigue as the smaller man carefully withdrew his fingers from his ass, wincing as he did so. Sighing as he did so, Link clambered off the bed and made a show of putting the black panties back on before the screen went black. The video was finished. Rhett was left astounded, open-mouthed, and more than a little bit confused.

When he’d finished cleaning himself up, he went back to his computer, to see that he’d received another email, once again from Link.

__

_Dear Mr. McLaughlin_

__

_Please ignore the attachment from the previous email, it was the wrong one. This would be the one to help you._

_**  
**C.L. Neal_


	7. Chapter 7

Rhett awoke the next morning with a deep feeling of dread, which mingled with overbearing guilt. He should’ve turned off the video right from the start, he’d known it was the wrong one before Link had even come into the frame. He wasn’t supposed to see it, and having done so, he felt like he’d betrayed Link, and invaded his privacy. That being said, he had to ask himself, what kind of man did he work for? What sort of boss kept a blindfold in his desk drawer, and videos like that one on his work computer? And how was it that Rhett kept stumbling across all these things? Had the other employees ever had an accidental run-in with this side of Link? These were the questions that rattled around in Rhett’s brain like marbles every time he moved his head.

The man arrived at work to see Link perched on Stevie’s desk, the two talking in hushed but frantic voices, which stopped completely when they discovered Rhett had entered the office.

“Morning, Rhett.” chirped Stevie. She sounded shaken, disturbed. Link simply nodded, and looked exasperatedly at Stevie before heading off to his own office. Rhett knew exactly what this was about.

“Rhett,” hissed Stevie, before making a beckoning motion with her hands. Rhett wearily approached her desk, and stood as naturally as possible, trying his very best to seem as though he had no idea that something was going on. “Link’s feeling a little jumpy today. Would you know anything about it?” asked the willowy woman. Rhett tried to look like he was musing possibilities for a few seconds.

“Can’t say I do.” he replied. Rhett was certain that Link would lose his job for doing what he did, so the less people knew, the better.

“Are you sure? There isn’t anything that could’ve... _rubbed_ him the wrong way?” Stevie persisted with the slightest smirk. Rhett sighed. Of course she knew, but he was determined to act as if everything was normal - which isn’t easy after accidentally seeing your boss viciously fingering himself. “Of course I don’t mean to _poke around_ …it’s nothing to _put on a show_ about after-all.”

“What are you doing?” Rhett asked, finally, monotone.

“What do you mean?” Stevie asked, innocently.

“Acting like you don’t know something instead of just coming out and saying it. You know about the video, you know he sent it by mistake and you know I watched it.” Rhett blurted out.

“AHA!” exclaimed Stevie, pointing accusingly at Rhett. “So you did watch it!”

“Yes, alright, sheesh, keep your voice down! Link can’t know I saw it, he has to think I got the other email before I opened the attachment from the first one, or he’ll never be able to show his face around here again.” hissed Rhett, his face and neck growing hot. “I don’t want him to get in trouble either.”

“Aw, cute. Alright.” she agreed. Rhett nodded curtly before making his way to his office, before Stevie called him back.

“What now?” he sighed.

“Why did you watch it?” Stevie asked. Rhett couldn’t answer right off the bat. This was going to take a while. He hadn’t truly asked _himself_ this question, let alone tried to answer it to someone else. It took a lot of stuttering and blank expressions before Rhett decided he didn’t have to answer. Whatever the reason might be, he was sure Stevie already knew.

* * *

“Hey.” said a small sad voice from the doorframe of Rhett’s office. He flinched in surprise, having not heard the voice’s owner coming.

“What’s up?” Rhett replied, not taking his eyes away from his computer. Link ventured further into the office.

“Stevie told me.” Link replied. Rhett stopped typing. The silence seemed to go on forever, only broken when Link sighed.

“She said she wouldn’t…” muttered Rhett. “Please don’t be mad, I didn’t mean to keep watching, for some reason I just…” he couldn’t justify himself.

“Why would _I_ be mad? You’re the victim here, this was sexual harassment on my part!” Link countered, sounding flustered.

“But you didn’t mean to send it. And I didn’t have to finish the video, right?” Rhett argued. “I mean, I could have easily closed the file, I knew it was the wrong one. I shouldn’t have finished it…” now it was Rhett’s turn to be flustered. Link looked as though he was about to say something to further incriminate himself, but instead he took a deep breath and exhaled.

“You know what? Let’s not play tug of war with the blame. We’re both at fault, but it’s over. I’m not mad at you, you’re not mad at me. End of story.” Link resolved.

“But it’s not, is it?” Rhett said, before he could stop himself. “I saw what I saw, it’s gonna be pretty hard for the both of us to pretend this never happened. And y’know what? Things haven’t been right with us for a while.”

“What are you saying?” asked Link, almost regretfully.

“I’m saying things have been weird since the Christmas party. It hasn’t been the same and we’ve barely even been talking. And now this? My point is I don’t think there’s  a way we can be friends now.” Rhett replied. It didn’t feel right saying these words. They left his mouth and throat feeling raw and tasting bitter, like he’d just vomited. But they were true. Link swallowed before taking a step further away.

“Alright. Say no more. I’ll leave you to your work.” he said, shakily. Rhett fought tooth and nail not to say anything else. This was for the best. What good could come from them having any relationship that wasn’t strictly professional? Link made to leave, but stopped.

“Rhett?” he began. The blonde man looked up from his desk, hopeful that there was still a chance to put this all behind them. “I want you to get that project finished. It’s either done and submitted by the end of this week or not at all. We can’t afford to have anyone shit the bed on this one.” Link said, harshly, before leaving without another word.

* * *

The very next day, Rhett entered the building with the intention of making things right. He knocked on the door of Link’s private office to no avail. There was no answer, and the door was locked.

“Hey, anyone seen Link?” Rhett called to the whole design floor. There were murmurs to indicate that nobody had. Rhett sighed and took the elevator all the way back down to the lobby. He approached Mercedes the receptionist, hoping that perhaps Link had come in that morning already and then gone back out again for a meeting or something.

“May I help you?” asked Mercedes.

“Yeah, did L-...Mr. Neal come in yet? He’s not upstairs.” Rhett asked hopefully. Mercedes gave Rhett and pitying gaze.

“Sweetie, didn’t you hear? Mr. Neal got fired. I heard it was something scandalous, but nobody really knows what it was. They made him clean out his things last night before he left. Poor man looked awful, leaving this building for the last time.” droned the receptionist. Rhett’s ears rang, not hearing anything after “got fired”.

“They can’t fire him! This is his business, this company would still be selling _paperclips_ if it weren’t for Link!” spat Rhett, furiously.

“Easy honey, he’s not gonna come back the faster you talk. Far as I know, it was a long time comin'. Just ‘cause the founder’s your daddy doesn’t mean you can screw the pooch as many times as he did.” replied the Mercedes, clearly not invested in calming Rhett’s outrage.

“What do you mean?” Rhett demanded.

“Oh it was always something new with that boy. Always getting caught with something, or someone, somewhere he shouldn’t be. Silly me, thought he was finally grown up and getting better at this. He stopped fooling around and getting into trouble for while, a little bit before Christmas. I guess he couldn’t keep up the streak. He’s really done it now.” said the Mercedes. She sat back in her chair, unaffected by Link’s leaving. Rhett wished he could feel the same, but he was, unfortunately, crushed by the news. He stomped back up to the design floor and dragged himself into his office, closing and locking the door behind him. Inevitably, if he didn’t do this, Stevie would be in to bug him about his feelings once more, and he simply wasn’t in the mood for that now. Instead, he picked up his cell-phone from his desk, and without stopping to talk himself out of it, dialled for Link. _What the hell am I doing?_ Before he could overthink it, he heard a sigh on the other end.

“Hi, Rhett.” said the voice, sounding nasal and scratchy. There was background noise to indicate that he was outside, which told Rhett that Link was already on the move.

“Hi, Link.” replied Rhett. There was a long silence before Rhett knew exactly what he needed to say, to make peace with himself, and the man on the other end. “I didn’t report you.”

“I know.” affirmed Link. “ _They_ monitor the emails. It was no use explaining that I didn’t mean to send you that... _filth_.” Rhett’s ears stung at the punctuation with which Link said that word. And inwardly, he disagreed. The video had been an artistic expression of sexuality. That was the way Rhett had thought of it while watching it, and he stood by that now.

“I can’t talk now. I left something for you.” Link said, ominously. Before Rhett could ask what it was, or where to find it, the other man had disconnected. Great. Was it just standard behavior around this place to speak in riddles? Rhett sighed and took a pause for thought. When he opened his desk drawer in search of the “something”, sure enough he found a crisp white envelope with his name on it. Knowing that his questions would be answered and the matter would be put to bed somehow made him want to open the letter even less; he didn’t want this to be over. But he took a deep breath, and zealously tore open the envelope. The page was occupied by the squat, curvy, almost immature handwriting that he could pin to Link instantly. It read as so;

 

_Dear Rhett,_

__

_You’re probably wondering who exactly I even am. Well rest assured, I’m not who you think. I’m pretty sick actually. Not in a sense of being unwell, I mean I’m twisted and disgusting. There are things I take joy in that no man should. And these things have been getting me into trouble for years._

__

_I’m not good for the company. I’ve been making them look bad ever since I got to the position I just had, so it’s just as well that they finally got rid of me. I’m going to stay with my Mom and her husband in North Carolina for a while, at least until the heat dies down. But for now, I don’t want to see you. I don’t want you to find me or talk to me or even call me. I want to cut off all contact, and I think it’s for the best._

__

_Thank you for making my last few months at Neal Office Inc. joyous._

__

_Kind regards and farewell_

__

_Link_

**  
** So that was that. The company had washed their hands of Link. He was never coming back.


	8. Chapter 8

_2 years later_

“Yes, Mr. King...yes Mr. King. Mmhm...yeah. Definitely. Thank you.” Rhett hung up his office phone with a sigh. He’d been right to think this job wouldn’t entail much. But the salary was phenomenal and he got a bigger office, which was worth it...right? It took a certain kind of person to want this job. To goof off all day and get paid for it...someone like...Rhett’s train of thought was interrupted by a knock at his office door.

“Come in.” he called, monotonously. Stevie opened the door and entered with a smug, secretive smile. Rhett didn’t even bother to ask about it, having gotten used to this sort of behavior.

“I finally finished the logos for the Ludwig programme, thank god. By the way I never want to look at them ever again so don’t even bother sending them back my way if you don’t like ‘em, just scrap ‘em and have Jen do something, it’ll be better anyway.” Stevie gabbled quickly. Rhett simply nodded in reply.

“Wow, who had the nerve to put the word ‘laugh’ in your last name?” Stevie joked. “I know what’ll perk you up. Guess who’s back in town.”

Rhett shrugged and returned his attention to Eelslap.com (...he _really_ didn’t have a busy schedule).

“Come on, guess.” Stevie persisted.

“I don’t wanna play this game, Stevie, we’re both adults, you can just tell me.” Rhett grumbled.

“But it’s more fun if you guess! Ugh, fine. It’s Link.” Stevie gave in. Rhett’s eyes snapped fully open from the unfocused state they’d previously been in. He hadn’t even heard that name since breaking the news to Stevie when the CEO had left without so much as a wave of his handkerchief. He’d spent months trying to forget the nimble, raven-haired man and deny to himself everything he felt. But this didn’t stop him putting up the same old front with Stevie.

“I’m not sure why you’re telling me.” he muttered, all the while waving the eel back and forth.

“FOR GOD’S SAKE!” Stevie roared suddenly, causing Rhett to look up, wide-eyed and listen. “YOU CARE! YOU CARE THAT HE’S BACK AND YOU’RE DAMNED IF YOU’RE GONNA PRETEND YOU DON’T! YOU’VE ALWAYS DONE THIS BUT GOD DAMMIT YOU HAVE FEELINGS! YOU DID BEFORE AND YOU STILL DO NOW! YOU’VE GOT A GOOD JOB WHERE YOU DON’T DO SHIT  ALL DAY AND PRACTICALLY GET PAID YOUR WEIGHT IN GOLD, BUT YOU FEEL LOUSY AND WE BOTH KNOW IT! WHY? BECAUSE HE’S GONE AND YOU MISS HIM LIKE CRAZY! WE ALL DO, BUT YOU GUYS HAD SOMETHING SPECIAL!” Stevie’s barking monologue left Rhett stunned and unable to say anything in response. It was like watching a famous dictator preaching his ideals to the masses. “When you denied it all those times before, I could understand. You were still kinda new and you didn’t want to jeopardize anything for yourself. Plus he was your boss. But it’s been two years, Rhett. You haven’t seen him in that long, and we all know how you felt...how you _feel_. How _he_ feels.” Stevie’s voice softened. Rhett had never consider how she must have felt so see her oldest friend go without even saying goodbye to her.

“What am I supposed to do, just barge on up to his front door and tell him? That’d be weird.” Rhett said, weakening after Stevie’s scariness.

“Yes! Of course!” she exclaimed.

“Well, I can’t. He told me not to go anywhere near him. Or even call him. He doesn’t want anything to do with me, and as you keep saying, it’s been two years. Two years in which I have made my peace with that.” Rhett sighed, once again returning to the eel.

“You don’t actually believe that do you? Link wanted you the moment you set foot in here, do you really think he’d genuinely never want to see you again?” Stevie continued persistently. “Everyone wanted you guys to get it the hell on from day one. Who knows if Link’s staying in town? How are you gonna feel if you pass up the chance to see him again?”

Rhett, knowing Stevie was right, said nothing.

“So. What shall I tell people when they ask why you left work early today?” she asked, raising both eyebrows.

“What are you-...oh.” Rhett’s own eyebrows raised. Silence fell as read mulled over in his head what a multitude of possible excuses - if he’d even use them or not. “I’ll see you after the dentist...cancel my appointments.”

“Who do you think I am, your secretary? Besides you don’t have any appointments, who even are you?.” replied Stevie, before exiting Rhett’s office with a satisfied grin. Rhett sighed to himself before hastily grabbing his keys, phone and jacket and promptly leaving the office.

If the giant had to describe what he felt during his drive to the house of his former boss, he’d call it a fever combined with his core muscles doing gymnastics. What would he say to this man? He’d long since deleted the video that had caused all of this, and therefore not even seen Link’s likeness in over two years. The drive to the Valley didn’t seem long enough. In no time, Rhett had reached his destination, and faced with the challenge of going inside. Sure enough he pulled himself out of the car, and shakily conquered the front path. Whatever the outcome, Rhett felt that he owed it to Stevie to at least try this out.

_ Knock-knock. _

Rhett waited, holding his breath. He let a minute pass before sighing heavily, and turning away. He should have felt somewhat relieved. It would have been weird anyway, right? While making his way down the path, Rhett’s body locked up. The cause of this was the rattle and click behind him of the front door opening. The tall blonde turned to look, only to see _him_. He looked different...shorter hair, more stubble and new glasses. But it was him alright. There was silence - not an uncomfortable one. But not pleasant either. A silence which Link broke, with words that seemed beyond his own control. “Don’t go.”


	9. Chapter 9

“So...how’s everyone on the design floor…?” Link asked sitting opposite Rhett on the couch.

“They’re ok.” Rhett replied, awkwardly.

“What’s the new boss like? Well, I suppose he’s not new anymore, huh?” Link said with a forced, weak laugh. Rhett couldn’t help but smile.

“Nope, he’s really not new...not at all.” the taller man responded, not sure how to go about telling Link.

“Wow, sounds like he’s some really old dude. What is he like some old fart in his late forties?” said Link, sounding almost the same, relaxed, happy man that Rhett used to converse with at work.

“Not exactly…” Rhett replied, not making eye contact but unable to stop the grin that formed on his face.

“Oooh, is it an early thirties bitty? Oo-la-la.” Link giggled. Rhett was relieved to find this encounter to be almost just as comfortable and easy as it used to be when interacting with Link.

“Guess again.” Rhett said, finally looking up. Link’s expression changed as he thought harder, but within seconds, his eyes widened and rested on the man beside him.

“YOU’RE A CEO?!” Link gasped. Rhett nodded, his face remaining content and soft. Link’s hand clasped down on the giant’s broad shoulder in a congratulatory gesture. “Good for you man! Wow, that’s really something! And you’re not even thirty!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty sweet.” Rhett chuckled in response.

When all customary pleasantries were exchanged, the blonde had to remind himself why he was here. “So...are we gonna...just, like, pretend there isn’t kind of an elephant in the room?” he said, easing Link gently into discussing the matter that had gotten them here in the first place.

“I guess you’re right. I should clarify that I wasn’t making a pass at you, so don’t freak out.” Link replied, nervously.

“Alright but...what was that video doing on your work computer?” Rhett enquired. What could possibly explain it?

“Well, Rhett, there’s...uh...there’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Link said, shifting awkwardly. His eyes stayed locked to the floor, reluctant to look at the other man. But this was thrown by Rhett resting a hand on his shoulder.

“So tell me.”

“Here.” Link handed Rhett an iced tea and rested his own on the coffee table in front of the couch - Link had concluded that explaining himself would take a while, and that refreshment was in order.

“I’m not...normal. Or whatever. I don’t know exactly how to put it eloquently...I have...they call it a ‘workplace kink’. It’s gross, I know. But I pretty much...uh...get off on anything to do with boss and employee stuff and anything risky.” Link said, as though he’d been holding his breath for a while and was finally exhaling. Rhett wasn’t surprised, and let Link continue. “Back before you worked at Neal Office Inc., the president of design was,” Link took a heavy breath “Drew. Drew was kinda of an ass, and I liked that about him for whatever reason. He and I had a lot in common...y’know, in terms of...uh...what we liked,” Link raised his eyebrows, and Rhett nodded to indicate that he understood the implication. “So, given that we both had sort of a thing for that, we started messing around in secret. At first it was just the occasional dirty call or risky text. But then things got more serious. We started keeping dirty stuff on our work computers because we liked to danger of it. Then stuff got even more intense. We’d sometimes...uh...do stuff in the office. Sometimes during work hours, other times we’d let ourselves in on the weekends. It didn’t really matter when, as long as we were in the office. As things heated up, I decided I’d make a video...the one you saw. But that was around the same time that Drew sent me the video of his presentation, because at the time, that sorta stuff had to go to the higher-ups through me. Anyhow, I guess both the videos were labeled as something along the lines of ‘Drew’, which explains the mix-up.” Link said, to his own disbelief. “But that wasn’t the end of it. When Drew got his computer screened for bugs, they found everything he was keeping on there. So he got fired. I didn’t take it too badly, it’s not like I loved Drew or anything, it was more like I was addicted to him, and getting to actually live out all those fantasies. But I didn’t like how I felt...how he _made_ me feel.” Link paused to readjust and act as though he hadn’t just said too much. “So now you know. You know what a freak I am, and why I deserved to be fired.”

“Link, you’re not a freak.” Rhett countered immediately. “There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re kinky, that’s it. Of course, the fact that you’re also impulsive gets you into all kinds of trouble, but you’re fine.” Link’s eyes fixed on Rhett’s, grateful to see them again after all this time.

“Do you mean that?” Link asked.

“Of course! When have I not been upfront with you?” Rhett affirmed with a good-natured chuckle. Link giggled momentarily along with Rhett. Somehow there was a shift in the atmosphere, and both men noticed. It was sudden, but so gentle, and happened almost automatically. Their lips met without grace, but somehow that didn’t matter. It was so natural, that the two barely even realized it was happening. Rhett soon took notice when he felt one of Link’s artistic hands rest on his knee. The touch was tender, but the electricity that he felt from the single touch was breathtakingly rough. Soon enough, the bearded man needed more than just the fleeting brush of his former boss’s lips. He leant further towards the smaller man, twining his fingers into the sheeny black hair, taken aback at how soft it felt. Link reciprocated, his hands making their way to Rhett’s waist and pulling him even closer. Within seconds of their bodies making such contact, the two became short of breath. Rhett was blown away, never having been kissed with such conviction. It was desperate, but somehow leisurely at the same time. Rhett felt under no pressure to initiate any further action, but at the same time, felt a desire deep throughout his being for the man before him. It was this desire that drove him to break apart from Link’s lips and progress to planting soft but needy kisses on the side of his face and neck, drawing soft gasps and moans from the brunette.

“Wait,” Link began, feverishly. “Come with me. I wanna show you something.”

 


End file.
